There is a certain kind of film that I am, almost invariably,
unable to resist - the epic story. It usually starts with a
simple, noble character of humble origins, who suddenly loses
everything that is most dear to him/her. Then the character
finds him or herself thrust into the center of an epic conflict
or struggle - some kind of dire situation whose outcome will
have consequences far greater than they can possibly imagine.
For such a character, the choice is simple - rise to meet the
challenge or fall in defeat. Heroes are born in this way. So too
are the best movies. Many of my favorite films share this common
thread - Star Wars, Lawrence
of Arabia, Braveheart...
the list goes on. There's just no better drama than a good epic
struggle.

So here's a epic tale for you - a noble Roman army general
named Maximus (Russell Crowe) has just won his greatest victory
against the Barbarian hordes in the North, ensuring the
continued security of Rome for ages to come. The battle has
taken years to fight, and all Maximus wants now is return home,
to farm his land and live in peace with his wife and son.

But
his dying friend and Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, has one last task for
Maximus. It seems that corruption is running rampant in the Empire,
and the Emperor's only son and heir, Commodus, is not an honorable
man. Fearing the worst for Rome upon his death, the Emperor asks
Maximus to succeed him, and to eventually return Rome to its people
- to make it a democracy again. Commodus soon learns of this plan
and, feeling betrayed, kills the Emperor, taking control before his
father's plans for Maximus are widely known. Commodus then demands
Maximus' pledge of loyalty. When the general refuses, he strips
Maximus of his command and has him taken away to be executed.
Maximus escapes, but Commodus' wrath falls heavily upon his family
before he can save them. Bereft, Maximus soon finds himself sold
into slavery as a gladiator. But in this seemingly desperate
situation, Maximus finds an opportunity for vengeance. As it
happens, the new Emperor is holding gladiatorial games in the
Coliseum in Rome to engender the love of his subjects. And the very
best gladiators are given an audience with the Emperor himself.

Director Ridley Scott's amazing attention to detail and his command
of cinematic style and process have never served him better. Given
time, I think Gladiator will
come to rank with Blade Runner
and Alien as his best works in
the eyes of film fans. The production design here is superb - the
glory of Rome at the height of its power comes brilliantly to life
on screen. The cast supporting Crowe is terrific, and includes the
likes of Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus and Richard Harris as the
Emperor, as well as Oliver Reed (who sadly died during this
production), Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou and Connie Nielsen. The
script is taut and well written, giving its characters just the
right motivation needed to propel the story. And the gladiator
action is intense and unrelenting, while still managing to leave a
lot for your own imagination to fill in. As violent as this film is,
you don't see a lot of actual blood. I'd say this is on par with
Braveheart, if even a little
less bloody.

This new DVD edition offers two versions of Gladiator...
the original theatrical cut and a brand new extended edition
prepared specifically by Scott. You can choose to watch one or the
other via a seamless branching option. I'm pleased to say that this
is one of those rare cases where more really is better - the roughly
17 minutes of added footage actually improves upon an already great
film. Much of the new material was included as deleted scenes on the
previous DVD release. It serves to round out and humanize the
supporting characters more, particularly Commodus and Lucilla, and
to significantly flesh out their own motivations. Commodus is a much
more effective villain as a result. There are also a number of new
moments of conspiracy and intrigue in Rome that add welcome depth to
the overall story. The extended cut also intensifies the combat
slightly.

Both versions of the film are presented in anamorphic widescreen
(2.35:1), and they look fantastic. It's odd, because compared to the
previous DVD release, the video here actually has a slightly reduced
average video bit rate. However, I suspect that compression
technology has improved enough over the last five years to
compensate for this. As a result, the video here actually looks just
slightly better, in my opinion, than the previous DVD. Colors are
just as vibrant, contrast is as deep and there's plenty of detail.
But the image here seems just a little less edgy, with slightly
greater clarity overall. The difference is very subtle, but I like
the new DVD's video quality just a hair more.

On the audio front, the disc includes what I believe is basically
the same Dolby Digital 5.1 track that was on the original DVD
release. The mix is highly atmospheric, with very active rear
channels, a nicely wide forward soundstage and plenty of low
frequency. Dialogue is clear and well centered, and Hans Zimmer's
aggressive and haunting score is beautifully presented in the mix.
Just listen to the wisp of arrows in the opening sequence, or the
metallic ringing of swords beings sharpened in Proximo's dungeon.
There's also plenty of low frequency reinforcement in the LFE to
test you subwoofer. There is no DTS audio, which will no doubt upset
some readers. Still, given that you get two versions of this film,
plus mandatory Dolby 5.1 audio and a completely new audio commentary
track all on one disc, we think it's a bit unreasonable to bemoan
the lack of DTS. Hey... we love DTS too. But as we've said many
times before, there's only so much room on a single dual-layered DVD
disc. Someday, there will be a Blu-ray Disc version with plenty of
extra disc space for all the bells and whistles. As it stands,
omitting the DTS track was the right move, so people need to suck it
up and deal. If it WERE on here, there would surely be complaints
about reduced video quality. Bottom line: If you want DTS, watch the
previous DVD release.

In addition to its dual versions of the film, Disc One offers a few
more choice supplements as well. First of all, if you choose the
extended edition, you'll get a video introduction by Scott. The disc
also features a subtitle text trivia track, called Are
You Not Entertained? In a welcome change of pace for a
feature of this type, it includes production and historical details
that are actually interesting. The track also points out features
that you might want to experience on the set's other two discs (for
example, when you view the film's opening sequence, it notes that
Disc Three features an alternate version of the opening), and for
the extended cut it identifies the deleted footage as you watch the
film - a nice touch. And if you stick with the trivia track, towards
the end of the film it actually starts to address the actual DVD
production effort, including comments about the omission of DTS and
more. By far the best extra on Disc One however, is an all-new,
full-length audio commentary track featuring Ridley Scott with
Russell Crowe (Crowe's first ever commentary for DVD). It's a great
track - both entertaining and illuminating. The two are well versed
in their craft, have obvious respect for one another and you can
sense how invested they both are in this project still, even five
years later. I don't want to say anything else about it, except that
if you're a fan of this film, listening to this track is an absolute
must.

Disc Two includes only a single extra, but in my opinion it's the
jewel of this set: a whopping 200-minute documentary on the making
of the film, called Strength and Honor:
Creating the World of Gladiator. Produced by Charles de
Lauzirika and his team (the same group responsible for the Alien
Quadrilogy, Spider-Man 2,
the Top Gun: SE and the 3-disc
Black Hawk Down), the
documentary is broken up into seven parts. You can watch each
individually or play them all back to back. All are presented in
anamorphic widescreen. Tale of the
Scribes covers the origins of the story, the way the
project developed and how Ridley got involved. The
Tools of War examines the making of the film's arms and
armor, and the logistical effort involved in staging the various
battle scenes. Attire of the Realm
provides insights on the costume design and the way the look of each
character was developed. The Heat of
Battle is the longest piece, covering the actual location
shooting from England to Morocco to Malta. Shadows
and Dust is a fascinating segment that shows you how the
filmmakers dealt with the unfortunate death of actor Oliver Reed
late in the production. It's also a moving tribute to the man and
his work. The Glory of Rome
takes you behind the scenes on the effort to recreate the wonder of
ancient Rome via CG effects. Finally, Echoes
in Eternity covers the eventual release of the film and
its ultimate impact.

You've heard us talk a lot here at The
Bits about how much we appreciate the work of independent
DVD producers, and this documentary is a perfect example of why that
is. Simply put, you'll never see an in-house producer at major
studio produce something as good as this, in an environment with a
dozen suits looking over his or her shoulder, with all the decisions
made in committee. A piece this good requires an experienced
producer operating with the creative freedom needed to explore the
topics as necessary, and with full access to the people and
materials involved in the making of the film. It also requires that
the producer have an established relationship with the filmmaker, so
that there's trust on both sides. Strength
and Honor is thorough enough that you'll want for very
little after watching it. Perhaps the best thing about the work, is
that it literally offers you new perspectives on the film itself.
Normally in a piece like this, you'll be shown occasional clips from
the film that illustrate the topic at hand. Here, as he did in the
Alien Quadrilogy, Lauzirika
peppers in footage from the film... but you quickly realize that
what you're seeing is often extended footage, alternate takes and
different camera angles that what appeared in the final cut of the
film. You're seeing familiar scenes and locations, but through
previously unseen material. I suspect you're also occasionally
hearing previously unheard bits of music as well. The cumulative
effect is to add surprising texture and depth to the experience of
the film, and to illuminate the world of the film in a way beyond
what you'd normally get in a documentary like this. Strength
and Honor: Creating the World of Gladiator is easily the
best documentary on the making of a film we've seen on DVD this
year. It's so good that after watching the entire thing front to
back (wrapping it up at close to Midnight a few days ago), I found
myself in such a Gladiator
headspace that I was compelled to watch the ENTIRE extended cut of
the film as well. It was close to 4 AM by the time I got to finally
sleep, but I enjoyed the experience thoroughly.

By the way, there's actually a pretty great Easter egg hidden on
Disc Two. I'm not going to tell you what it is, or how to find it,
other than to say that it's a tricky one to locate. It's well worth
the effort however. Enough said for now.

Disc Three serves as a sort of catch-all for the set. There's a
featurette on the film's production design work (featuring designer
Arthur Max), along with scores of elaborate design galleries packed
with artwork covering every conceivable location and sequence in the
film. There's a featurette in which artist Sylvain Despretz shows
you how the storyboard process works. You get multi-angle
comparisons of three sequences, comparing the storyboards to the
final filmed sequences (with optional commentary by Despretz), as
well as a complete archive of storyboards (including Ridley's own
drawings) for 10 different scenes from the film. There are galleries
of costume design artwork for the film's major characters. There are
additional galleries of photographs shot during the production.
There's a section of abandoned and deleted scenes (including an
alternate version of the opening, as well as a newly-discovered
deleted scene in which Maximus and Juba prepare for the chain fight
in Zucchabar). Some of them feature optional commentary and there's
a short featurette here as well. Next up is a featurette examining
the development of certain visual effects shots of Germania and
Rome. Finally, the film's theatrical trailer, teaser trailer and
scores of TV spots are all available for viewing.

The discs' animated menu screens are simple and elegant. All three
discs are packaged in a folding Digipack with an outer slipcase. You
even get an insert booklet with liner notes by Scott himself. All in
all, this is an absolutely fantastic piece of work - a worthy and
welcome 3-disc special edition. Match it with the previous 2-disc
release's excellent historical documentaries, its look at Hans
Zimmer's music, its alternate audio commentary, the DTS track and
the production diary by young Spencer Treat Clark (there's
surprisingly little overlap between the two editions)... and what
you get is a helluva great 5-disc special edition of Gladiator.
What more could any fan of this film want? In fact, my only real
complaint about this new edition is that it doesn't include 2 empty
disc slots in the packaging to contain the original release as well.

Can you imagine the pitch session for this project? "We wanna
make this kick-ass gladiator film with Russell Crowe and Richard
Harris. We're gonna have lots of combat and we're gonna use CGI to
bring the Roman Coliseum back to life. Oh... and Ridley Scott's
gonna direct." How cool is that? Answer: Very. Gladiator
is an undeniably great film... and it's now made even better with
this new 3-disc DVD release. The new Scott/Crowe commentary, the
extended cut of the film and the completely engrossing documentary
offered here are WAY more than enough to justify the cost of adding
this set to your DVD collection. Our advice is to pony up the
greenbacks for this new edition and just be damn glad you've been
given the chance to do so. We sure as hell are.

SteamboyDirector's Cut -
2005 (2005) - Triumph/Sunrise (Sony)

(Editor's Note: This review is by Todd
Doogan & Bill Hunt)

Film Rating: D+

Disc Ratings (Video/Audio/Extras): B-/B+/C+

Packaged Extras (Limited Edition Box only): B

Don't believe the hype. Holding no bars whatsoever, we have to
say that Steamboy sucks.
Seriously, it's a huge disappointment. Katsuhiro Otomo blessed
us with Akira, which ranks
as one of the seminal anime titles (based on his own manga
series) to date. So it only reasoned that Steamboy
would rock the anime world's socks completely off, right?

Nope.

We have no idea how a film that A) looks as cool as this one
does, and B) has the potential that this film does, could suck
as badly as this film ultimately does.

The film's story is surprisingly anaemic and pointless, but
let's take a look anyway, if only for the sake of this review.

In
the late 1800s, a research team stationed in Russian Alaska
discovers hyper-dense water with so much energy stored inside it
that it could transform the world of steam power. But as they try
and harness this power, something goes horribly wrong. Cut to
Victorian England, where teen supreme Ray Steam is a boy genius in
the world of steam power. His father and grandfather were the two
men in charge of the Alaskan expedition, so he's got steam not only
as his last name, but in his blood. But when a package from his
grandfather (containing a steam engine built around the mysterious
water source) arrives at his doorstep one day, evil quickly follows.
Scientists/inventors with dark agendas, shady companies and even
shadier governments with nefarious plans... all come knocking on
Ray's door. They want the device that's now in Ray's possession, and
only Ray can keep them from getting it. Or so you'd think. That's
where this film starts to fall apart. The first fifteen minutes are
interesting, but the rest of the movie pretty much fails almost
entirely to remain coherent or even entertain.

If the movie had built upon its interesting set-up, it could have
been very cool. But it doesn't. Ray gets caught right after he gets
away with the engine. He quickly looses the engine, and then finds
out that his father and grandfather, whom he thought dead, are not
only still alive, but somehow involved in all these dark dealings.
Otomo claims that this is a film about the relationship between
fathers and sons, but those relationships just don't pay off as they
should. Instead of fighting his father and grandfather, because they
seem to be evil now, Ray joins them for some odd reason. Other
characters with wicked agendas, who could have been really badass
villains (like say, Scarlett) are turned into comedy foils that run
around with Ray as he meanders through the story. And while the
animation and production design depicted in the film's climax offer
a glimpse of all-stops-pulled-out coolness, nothing ultimately comes
of it. No one pays a price for their actions and there are no
repercussions for any of the major characters, save for the poor
people of London, who are alternately stomped and frozen into
oblivion. On a side note, but equally puzzling, it's hard to see the
point of naming characters after both real historical figures and
also literary figures. Robert Stephenson makes obvious sense, but
Scarlett O'Hara? Stupid.

Adding insult to injury, a "sequel" story of sorts
unfolds in the form of black and white drawings that play under the
film's closing credits, teasing us with what REALLY WOULD have been
a cool movie. We see a future Ray as a Rocketeer-like
superhero saving the world from various disasters and evil-doers,
aided by his steam-powered inventions, his friends and WWI fighter
aces. Where the hell is THAT film? We'd actually like to see that
one.

The anamorphic widescreen video on this DVD (presented at 1.85:1)
is decent, but would have benefitted greatly from Sony's Superbit
process. Sadly, given that Sony's focused all its energy on Blu-ray
Disc, we may have seen the last of Superbit. As presented here, the
video renders a film-like image, but there's a bit too much
over-compression visible. The film's colors are muted by design,
heavily favoring the drab grays and browns of industrial,
turn-of-the-century London. Contrast is strangely lacking, giving
the film a bit of a washed out, faded appearance.

The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio mixes fare better, available in both
English and the original Japanese (2.0 Surround audio is also
offered in French, Spanish and Portuguese, with subtitles available
in all five languages). This is one of those strange situations
where listening to the film in its original language almost seems
counter-intuitive: It's a film set in England, but produced in
Japanese. We still recommend listening to the film in Japanese (with
English subs), but it's going to be a bit off-putting at first.
Nevertheless, both 5.1 tracks are very good, with well blended music
and dialogue, highly active surrounds and deep, booming bass. The
soundfield is big, wide and nicely atmospheric, which does help to
draw you into the visuals.

The extras aren't particularly substantial, though they should
probably have been included on a second disc so that the video could
have been less compressed. You get Re-Voicing
Steamboy, a short featurette on the usual process of
finding English-speaking actors to re-dub the original Japanese
dialogue (for the record, they include Alfred Molina, Patrick
Stewart and Anna Paquin). There's a short interview with Otomo, who
talks about the making of the film and all the intellectual ideas he
tried (and failed, in our opinion) to convey. It's a shame that he
doesn't seem to have a stronger emotional connection to the story -
that might have actually made Steamboy
work. Next up is a Multi-Screen Language
Study, which is an odd little piece that includes final
imagery from the film, film and video clips that seem to have
inspired it, and also retrospective interview clips with various
people involved in the making of the film (talking about their
involvement)... all in 3-way split-screen. The DVD also includes
The Adventure Continues - the
film's ending credit sequence without text, in anamorphic widescreen
(a nice touch, but it's still a bit of salt in the wound, because it
looks like a much better film than the one we actually saw).
Finally, you get Animation Onion Skins
and Production Drawings, which
are two additional video pieces that show you various stages in the
animation of several scenes, as well as artwork created during the
design phase of the production. The best of the lot is the Otomo
interview, and The Adventure Continues
and Production Drawings clips
- but NONE of it is particularly outstanding.

This film is available on DVD in two versions - the "director's
cut" reviewed here and also a
Limited
Edition Gift Set that includes the same DVD packaged in a
box with a reproduction of the 22-page manga, a 166-page book of
character and production design artwork and a set of 10 collectable
postcards. It's a nice package. Shame the film doesn't deserve it.

Whereas Akira and Metropolis
grappled with all kinds of high-concept ideas, Steamboy
ultimately aspires to being little more than a massively overblown
superhero origin story. Sadly, you don't even KNOW that it's a
superhero origin story until it's already over. As a result, Steamboy
becomes this year's The Cell
on DVD: A movie that looks utterly cool, that would only play well
as background imagery (with the sound turned off) at a rave party or
dance club. It could have been, and SHOULD have been, much more than
that. Given how much we love Otomo's other films here at The
Bits, that sucks even more than the movie itself.